Last year, the city sold some 16.9 billion gallons of water, and Bullert said this year saw only a five percent increase. Much of the credit also goes to the Twin Cities environment.

“This year we’ll only see an increase to about 17.8 or 17.9 billion gallons, an increase of only about five percent,” said Bullert.

In fact, Bullert said Minneapolis residents are using far less water than just a decade ago when the city was selling about 22 billion gallons a year.

“You know one of the big factors in the reduction is the renovation of older homes and installation of newer dishwashers, toilets and other water using appliance that are more efficient and designed to use less water,” he said.

The cosmopolitan makeup of the Twin Cities, with its small, tree-covered lots and its’ conservation-minded residents also help keep usage to a minimum.